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New York – Day Nine and Ten

New York – Day Nine and Ten
Carly Jacobs

The last few days have been a blur of work and activity. After spending each morning powering through our respective freelance work, we spent most afternoons doing fancy things in old NY.

On Friday we walked the High Line, which is an abandoned train line that was landscaped in 2009 into a scenic walk. It’s incredible. You walk above the streets, past the most amazing buildings and gardens. I had a salted caramel and apricot popsicle from People’s Pops that was extraordinary. Highly recommended. We then checked out the Amazing Bodies exhibit which was fascinating. They use real dead bodies and replace the moisture in the cadaver with silicone to preserve it. Surprisingly less gross than I thought it would be. I ate a traditional diner cheeseburger for lunch and had incredible mexican food and frozen margaritas for dinner, followed by a walk around Central Park.

On Saturday we bought a picnic from Wholefoods (our most favourite place in NY) and ate lunch in Central Park. We hired bikes and rode around the entire park, which is ENORMOUS. There’s an outdoor pool, several lakes, sporting grounds… it’s like a whole other city in there. I then went shopping in Times Square. Big mistake on a Saturday afternoon. Macy’s was out of control and Sephora was full of tourists wanting deluxe makeovers and hours worth of advice. I managed to duck in to quickly buy a few essentials, but I’ll stick to mid-week shopping from now on. I then headed to Brooklyn to have burgers and beer with an old friend. It was a delightful weekend.

 

 

More Weird Shit About the US

They call the ‘bill’ the ‘check’

And they spell it ‘check’ not ‘cheque’. I’ve asked for the ‘bill’ about ten times here and I’ve been met with utter confusion. At least twice, I swear the waiter thought I didn’t speak English.

‘Prawns’ are ‘shrimp’

And as such, I never order it because it sounds like a bad 2 minute noodle flavour, not the delicious and awesome seafood delight that it actually is.

Blinkers don’t blink

Which is why they call them ‘indicators’. When a car goes to turn a corner they put on their indicator which is a solid red light. It’s slightly jarring for me but it makes sense. The whole blinker thing in Australia is a bit panicked. I mean, really. You’re turning a corner, not sending out a signal flare.

They drive on the opposite side of the road

Obviously, but that rule also applies to pedestrian traffic. I’ve been blocking up the left lane in many major train stations, with my Aussie left leaning brain. Must remember to stick to the right.

Toilets don’t have flush buttons

They have handles. It feels very old school to flush a toilet with a handle.

The phrase ‘I’ve got the shits‘ doesn’t mean you’re angry

It means the other thing…

 

 

16 Comments

  1. Cherri Porter 13 years ago

    I hope you didn’t have any kind of “shits” in NYC.

    The waitstaff not knowing “bill” must have meant they were either young or stupid. I waited tables in the midwest in the 1980s and we called it “bill” then; my husband and I call it bill in California and have never been met with a blank stare.

    I’ve really enjoyed these NYC posts.

    • Author
      Smaggle 13 years ago

      No I didn’t have either kind of shits! 🙂

      Bizarre, I’ve asked for the bill heaps of times and usually repeat it a few times until finally I give up and say check. 

  2. Elle Marie 13 years ago

    I’m from New York but I know how it feels to have  culture shock.. the handle thing, well, some do have flush buttons but those are in the dept stores, I wish I know you were in NY, could have met up.

  3. Elle Marie 13 years ago

    I meant, I wish I knew you were in NY… yai yai yai

  4. Hope in High Heels 13 years ago

    I’ve just laughed all the way through your NYC posts (which are fabulous!)… I moved here from Melbourne 5 months ago and have (gulp) started to normalise… the other day, I thought Starbucks was decent coffee, seeing someone walking a parrot or cat is totally normal and I almost forgot to laugh when I saw someone walking a rabbit… in a childs pram (sans child)… in Soho.

    As you’ve discovered though, the frozen delights are outstanding. My two favourites – l’arte del gelato on bleecker and 7th in the west village is amazing and the Yogo truck – not the dairy dessert, but rather tart, yummy frozen yoghurt – in soho is also a must-try.

    Other odd things about NYC – they still use cheques, the door gap in public toilets makes them exactly that – public and they publish prices without tax included, so you get a nice surprise at the register…

    Enjoy the rest of your trip!

    • Author
      Smaggle 13 years ago

      Oh good lord. Don’t ever think Starbucks is good, I can do iced coffee there but hot kills me. 

      I’m loving it! Any tips on relocating would be awesome. I think we are planning a permanent move in the nest few years. 

      • Sally 13 years ago

        Nooooooo!!!!!

      • Hope in High Heels 13 years ago

        I have so many learnings to share… the biggest – try not to bring anything with you! it’s been horrendous trying to fit a 3 bedroom melbourne home into a one bedroom (admittedly fabulous) west village apartment. Cull like, 3 times before you pack (we sold half a house of stuff and it still wasn’t enough). Also, it takes 5 to 6 months to get anything here by seafreight if you don’t have a container load – don’t believe anyone who tries to tell you otherwise – they’re lying! Use Airbnb to get yourself a temporary sub-lease for the first two months you’re here so you can avoid broker fees and btw, you don’t have to go through a broker to find an apartment – we didn’t and I can recommend someone who can help you. The E3 visa is the best for Australians, the social security, banking, phone and post systems will drive you mad…. then when you get here – there’s good places to buy cheap furniture (in addition to ikea – the best way to get there is via ferry – it’s in  scary part of brooklyn), homewares etc… hope that helps – happy to share the rest of the ups/downs but probably better in an email!

    • Nicole 13 years ago

      Agree SO much about the toilet doors and the taxes thing!

  5. Nicole 13 years ago

    All the cars here in SC (and in Texas when I lived there) have the lights blink when they use their turn signal. Seeing people actually use them, well that’s a whole other story.

    The thing I think is funny about going to American restaurant is that if the word “chips” is next to the words “fish and” on a menu, they most definitely will bring you hot chips (or french fries). But ask for chips with you’re burger and there’s a pretty good chance you’ll end up with potato chips (potato crisps) on your plate. How is it so circumstantial? haha
     

    • Author
      Smaggle 13 years ago

      Oh weird… perhaps it’s just newer cars because there doesn’t seem to by any old ones at all in NY!

      Too true about the chips. 

  6. Madalein Rose Tier 13 years ago

    I am LOVING this series. I’m headed to the US to study in our summer, and although it’s obviously going to be ten below, I’ll definitely be headed to NY. Every time this pops up on my feed I can hardly contain my excitement.

    I know the whether has probably got you wanting everything cold I remember reading about this shop on Keiko Lynn’s blog and just thinking “I want to go there”  (Liz Lemon voice)  I’m a pretty big fan of pie and their menu rocks.

    http://birdsblack.com/

  7. Angelique 13 years ago

    I’m also really enjoying your perspective on NY! But, the turn indicators on cars here do blink. A lot of people have the bad habit of not using their turn indicators, however, so maybe that’s what you noticed?

    I’ve just recently moved back to the city, and the Highline didn’t exist yet when I lived here before. I’ve had it on my list to do, and your post is making me excited to go!

  8. Katie 13 years ago

    Blinkers/indicators definitely blink. But, having grown up in New York, I can tell you that letting other drivers know what you’re planning on doing is seen as a sign of weakness, so most people don’t use them.

  9. GRIT & GLAMOUR 13 years ago

    And the escalators run the same as traffic in the U.S. and Australia. In the U.S., the “up” escalator is on the right. In Australia, it’s on the left. That one confused me on both countries when I’d spent several months in one, then returned to the other.

    Oh, and another…I’m confounded by this one. In Australia, ketchup (with the exception on Heinz ketchup) is called tomato sauce. In the U.S., ketchup by any brand is ketchup, because tomato sauce is pureéd tomato and doesn’t taste like ketchup. Then there is tomato paste, which is a concentration of tomato, in paste form. So what I want to know (and my Aussie hubby has never explained this), is when you need tomato sauce—not ketchup—in Australia for say, a marinara recipe, what is IT called? I never made anything that required it in Sydney. I just bought Dolmio from Woolies and called it a day.

     

  10. byhillary 12 years ago

    Wicked interesting to see a foreigners impression of things here. Things I wouldn’t ever think of.

    Bill or check are used interchangeably. I don’t think you should get a reaction unless the person was stupid which is possible. But blinkers definitely blink. I have never heard it called an indicator though. In NYC though using turn signals in general is a sign of weakness I think. But they are SUPPOSED to. Not only do they blink but they make a nice blinky noise inside the car.

    If you ever go back I can tell you all kinds of lovely celiac friendly spots. My husband too is celiac and we go to NYC just to eat our way around the city!

    Many places are moving away from toilets that flush and using buttons but mostly in commercial settings.

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